The Resurrection & The Fool
If you were to die today, do you know for certain, without even an inkling of a doubt, that you would go to heaven?
According to the Bible you can answer that question with a resounding, “Yes”, with absolute certainty, without even an ounce of doubt.
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood —to be received by faith. - Romans 3:25
For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. - Romans 6:10
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9
Believe he is Lord (not just a good teacher) AND that he was resurrected meaning he lives today. We believe (know) he is Lord, Savior, God, but if he is not alive then his death means nothing and we should be pitied as fools. According to 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
12. Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
15. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
16. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
17. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
18. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
What the writer of 1 Corinthians, Paul, is saying is you can't believe Jesus was raised and not believe we will enter heaven as well as that would be contradictory. If God can (and did) raise Jesus, then his promise of heaven for us should be believed as well which means full forgiveness is available through his death and resurrection.
If you are still in doubt about Jesus’ resurrection, Paul reminds us of those who saw him. Many of whom were still living when Paul penned these words and could have refuted Paul’s claims but they did not because it was (is) true.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. - 1 Corinthians 15:3-7
He was raised from the dead, and his death and resurrection means everything. And we are beholden to Jesus because of the greatest event to ever take place. We are not fools to be pitied but Ambassadors of the greatest news ever to be told and we should tell it with boldness as incredible as the event itself.
